A house/ apartment that someone you know lives in

Describe a house/ apartment that someone you know lives in.

- whose house/apartment this is
- where the house/apartment is
- what it looks like inside

and explain what you like or dislike about this person’s house/apartment.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:

My maternal uncle lives in a large house in Noida, in India. The house is considered as one of the splendid edifices of the modern architecture in his locality.

Mr. Gautam Sudhir is my maternal uncle and works as a senior naval officer in the Indian Navy. He is a bit luxurious in nature and loves to live in a beautiful space. So, he has made the house with great care. The house is a one-storied building covering a large space. There is a large garden in front of the house with different attractive flower and fruit plants. Some of the plants are unavailable in the country. The small swimming pool has raised the beauty of the house. It also has a spacious roof and my uncle has separated the roof into two parts. He has his study in one part and the other part is gardened with flower plants he brought from different countries during his travel. The house has a grand look and my uncle is also proud of it.

My Uncle lives New Okhla Industrial Development Authority in India which is better known as Noida. It is located in Uttar Pradesh. This is an industrial city but now this is known most for the expensive and luxurious housing. Most of the houses in the city are extremely beautiful and contain all the modern elements. The city has been formed as the people related to the industrial activities, mostly the people of IT-related service, started living here. Besides, the city is decorated with plants while the roads are smoother than any other roads in the country. There are different sections of the city and the house is located in one corner of Noida. The connecting road to the house has been linked with the main road of the city and thus communication is easier despite the house been located at a corner of the city.

The inside of the house is beautifully decorated. The house has many rooms including three large bedrooms with some other smaller rooms to be used for several other purposes. The living space is extra large. Most of the furniture is made with the finest woods and proudly shows the choice of the house owner. There is an unusually large mirror in the living room and portrays the shadow of the visitors which is amazing, while the ceiling is decorated with a chandelier. The master bedroom is stunningly decorated with precious furniture and amenities. There is a king-size bed in the master bedroom with some essential furniture. The most important thing about the house is that it is centrally air-conditioned which has made living inside the house comfortable.

This is an adorable house indeed, and I like the swimming pool inside the boundary. The house is special in many senses and the most important thing is the design. The house is shaped simply with the modern architectural designs. The house also owns a gorgeous look and in night times, the house looks more beautiful when all the lights are on. Sometimes, the family members gossip on the side of the swimming pool during the moonlit nights. I also like to play cricket in the lawn but often we need to be careful about the cricket balls so that they do not cause any damage to the small flower plants. Sometimes, I read books and watch television on the rooftop study. Moreover, the electronic entrance is another important feature of the house. Whenever any vehicle tries to enter through the gate, the guard opens the gate electronically. Besides, the modern security system has made the entire house safe.

Model Answer 2:
My friend, John lives in a small apartment here in Paris. He loves to live alone and his apartment looks really nice. Thank you for the smart question and I will describe the apartment now.

John is the owner of this small apartment. It is around 600 square feet. He lives alone here though his parents live on the upper floor of the apartment building. The apartment was meant for commercial purposes but he has got the apartment for himself after lots of struggles with his parents. In fact, they did not want John to stay alone. But John had to undergo some struggles to get it.

The apartment building is located in the centre of the city of Paris and it was meant for a shop or any commercial space. In fact, John’s father is a local businessman and he planned the apartment in that way to sell or rent it. But John let not that happen. He is an extrovert and loves to meet with people. Sometimes, he also practices a musical instrument. Since the practice in his bedroom causes disturbance to his family environment, he needed a place of his own. Accordingly, he claimed the apartment and now is happy with that.

The apartment is beautiful. John has decorated that apartment using a professional interior designer. He has made a separate and small space for his instrument practice. Besides, his bedroom is also nicely decorated. The bedroom has a small bed with a set of medium-sized table and a chair. His tiny living space is also adoring. There are four seats altogether with a large bookshelf filled with numerous books and magazines. He also has applied some painting on the living space wall. As a result, the wall has got a different look. The small kitchen is complete with modern tools and cooking instruments. His computer is in his bedroom while a large television is set at the living space. Overall, John has decorated the inner of his apartment precisely in an attractive manner.

I like the apartment most for some reasons. First of all, it is soundproof. The external noise of the city life is completely absent inside. The inner decoration belongs to the top class. Everywhere you will see the impression of his aristocratic outlook. Moreover, the apartment is perfect for a single person and comes with the modern facilities. I also like the small space where John keeps his indoor plants. Whenever I go to visit John, it becomes difficult for me to come back leaving the apartment. Besides, the apartment is accessible from anywhere in the city. Communication with the apartment is easier. It is armed with modern communication systems like telephone, intercom and others. Everything is in order at the apartment and thus I like it most.

Part 3: Details discussion:

Different types of home:

Q. What kinds of home are most popular in your country? Why is this?
In India, mostly the concrete made homes are popular among the ordinary citizens. The concrete made homes have gained popularity for several reasons. The first and the most important thing is that they are durable than any other types of homes. Once you have made a home with concrete, you can reside there for years. Usually, the homes made with concrete require less take care or repairing and last longer than the other homes made with tin sheet or woods. Besides, higher storied buildings could be built with concrete which is impossible with the other materials. Moreover, the homes are economic and the raw materials are available everywhere. So, most of the Indians prefers to make homes with concrete.

Q. What do you think are the advantages of living in a house rather than an apartment?
Well, definitely there are advantages of living in a house. The first and top most advantage is that one can live peacefully in a house than an apartment. When it is about living in an apartment, you are to abide by some rules and restrictions which may irritate you. Those rules may appear bar to your free movement in the apartment. Besides, there are some common uses of lifts and services which many of the people may not prefer. For instance, you cannot use the lift for your emergency as you are to get in a queue to ride on. But if you are at your own house, you do not need to ride on lifts as most of the houses are one-storied. Besides, you can decorate the house after your needs as there are ample spaces but in apartments, such spaces are unavailable for limited apartment sizes. So, I think living in a house is more advantageous than living in an apartment.

Q. Do you think that everyone would like to live in a larger home? Why is that?
Umm … I do not think that everyone would like living in a larger home as it depends on the mental state. People who have been grown up in open spaces and environments like rural areas usually like to live in larger homes and on the other hand, when people are born in cities, they want to live in smaller homes. They are habituated with the smaller environment and if they are taken to some larger space, they start feeling uncomfortable. So, apparently, people are not always be fitted with a larger home or larger environment. It depends on many things and mostly the early childhood environment influences the issue more than anything.

Finding a place to live:

Q. How easy is it to find a place to live in your country?
Well, in India, finding a place is not so difficult. Anyone could find a place to live. Most of the times, people hire places to live in and the people who are rich and wealthy, they usually buy their own living places. But the number of such people is limited and people prefer to hire places. The hiring process is interesting. In most of the cases, the hiring is done with different websites dealing with property selling or hiring. But there are some landlords who prefer to hang a ‘To-Let’ sign before the house to be hired. People who need places to live usually are in search of such signs or browse the websites.

Q. Do you think it’s better to rent or to buy a place to live in? Why?
This is a difficult question to reply. You know, if you want to buy a piece of land or want to buy a house, you have to spend lots of money. But everyone here is not that much wealthy to buy properties. So, it is better to hire a place than buying. Besides, hiring has some other benefits. If you buy a land, you cannot leave the area in cases like weak communication system or lack of municipal facilities. But if you are a tenant, you can leave the house in such cases and rent another one that fits your needs. In India, there are such troubles prevailing even today and so, I think it is better to rent than buy a living place.

Q. Do you agree that there is a right age for young adults to stop living with their parents? Why is that?
Umm … I do not agree on this point. There is no specific age for young adults or adults to stop living with their parents. In fact, the parents considered their children as small even if they become parents too. The best idea is to live with the parents and not to leave them for a while. If someone leaves the parents, they are deprived of the parental blessings. Besides, when someone is with the parents, s/ he will get some other benefits like there are no costs for the delicious foods prepared by mom. The foods are absolutely free. Moreover, it will save money for them in some specific cases. All the domestic works would be done on behalf of them which is the other benefit.